My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

Luo Hanying was completely clueless about all of this. She was only a dabbler in everything she learned, and she didn't know how to examine Lu Xiyan's body, nor did she know the meaning of those runes, let alone cast a divination to see what her fate would be.

Actually, she was a little confused as to why Ji Daoyun wanted her to come in as well. No matter how she thought about it, it would be more worthwhile to let two disciples from Xinglin Peak come in to check the situation.

"Have you figured anything out?" Kong Lianghe asked hurriedly when he saw that everyone seemed to have stopped what they were doing. "Do you know how to wake Yanniang?"

The group looked at each other, shaking their heads in bewilderment.

Lu Xizhou forced a smile: "It's alright, my second sister seems to be able to hold on for a while longer, so you don't need to feel too much pressure."

If we don't have any leads here, let's go check out the golden-leaved sycamore trees first.

Mu Hua spoke first: "I checked Lu Xiyan's physical condition, and she is fine. I can't see any problem. I don't know why the soul lamp is dim. It may really be as Junior Uncle said, that there is a problem with her sea of ​​consciousness."

But we all know how important a cultivator's sea of ​​consciousness is. Even when she is awake, she might not be willing to let me see it for her, let alone when she is currently asleep.

Lu Xiyan's cultivation level is at the late Golden Core stage; even if Senior Sister Song were here, she couldn't force an investigation.

Song Yingshi's cultivation level was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

"This rune is somewhat like a rune that suppresses divine consciousness, combined with a rune that evokes fear in the heart and creates illusions. I can't see anything else about it."

These runes are completely contrary to what I understand. Most of the lines are connected. You say her whole body is covered in runes, but even if I wanted to study them, I wouldn't know where to begin.

Du Sitong rubbed her tired eyes and said, "According to you, she screams every night around midnight, which is probably because these runes are damaging her soul at that time."

Shen Weixia held a pair of grayish-white divination blocks shaped like ram's horns, made from some kind of animal bone, in his arms, and played with three bone coins with his fingertips: "The divination indicates that Lu Erniang's life is in danger, but there are two variables involved."

"I wonder where this variable lies. If we can find it, Lu Erniang will be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."

Hope rose in Lu Xizhou's eyes: "Then can Senior Brother Shen figure out where the variable lies?"

Shen Weixia shook her head: "We can't calculate it. Since it's a variable, unpredictability is the norm. Calculating it would mislead us and could actually endanger your sister's life."

Lu Xizhou tapped his brow with the handle of his fan, looking rather desperate.

Kong Lianghe also looked dejected and slumped down on the stool.

At this moment, a middle-aged man knocked on the door, entered the room, and bowed, saying, "My name is Lu Ze. I heard that our distinguished guest wishes to inquire about Yan Er Niang?"

Luo Hanying took two steps closer to Lu Ze, looking him up and down as she said, "Yes, tell me all the details from those days. Maybe we'll find some clues."

Lu Ze then recounted the whole story.

According to him, when Lu Xiyan first led them to investigate the cause of the disappearance, they found nothing—

There were no witnesses when the cultivator disappeared, and he did not exhibit any unusual behavior before his disappearance.

Whether using magic to find the missing person's aura or searching for details of their activity locations like a government office, the case made no progress.

The night before Lu Xiyan's accident, two more cultivators went missing, and Lu Xiyan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Such incidents occurring frequently within the Lu family's territory have damaged their reputation. Moreover, Golden Leaf Phoenix Tree was already showing signs of decline at that time, with many orders unable to be delivered. The Lu family's century-old foundation is facing such problems, and the pros and cons are far-reaching, leaving everyone feeling heavy-hearted.

At that time, everyone had been running around non-stop for three days without sleep. Even cultivators were exhausted under such high pressure. So they decided to rest for the night in Lujia Village.

That very night, screams rang out from low-level cultivators. Lu Xiyan was the first to rush out and rescue the screaming cultivator. They witnessed Lu Xiyan chasing after that eerie black shadow and disappearing into the night.

When Lu Ze, whose cultivation was second only to Lu Xiyan, caught up, he watched helplessly as Lu Xiyan exchanged two blows with the dark figure before screaming and fainting to the ground.

Ji Daoyun asked, "Where is the cultivator who let out the first scream now?"

Lu Xizhou looked somewhat desperate: "They've disappeared."

The Lu family sent people to investigate what similarities he shared with previously missing people, and as a result, he disappeared right under their noses.

Luo Hanying thought to herself that this was a hellish start. She was not very bright to begin with, and now she had to investigate the case like a detective solving a puzzle. The key was that there were no clues at all. How was this possible?

How can anything that happens in this world leave no trace?

As Luo Hanying listened to the discussion, Ji Daoyun raised a few questions, and Luo Hanying echoed, "I think what you're saying makes sense."

It's really strange. People who disappeared before were always quiet and just vanished without a trace. How did that dark figure that night give it away?

Perhaps the disappearance wasn't caused by the shadowy figure; it was just a distraction.

Luo Hanying glanced at Lu Xiyan lying on the bed and continued, "You all said that with Lu Erniang's cultivation level, she could only scream once and lose consciousness. Now she's lying here covered in runes. Did that low-level cultivator even have time to scream in front of the shadow?"

Upon hearing this, Du Sitong became even more convinced of his idea. He had a sudden inspiration and asked, "Does Jinwu County have a Taibai Pavilion?"

"Such a big matter, they must be investigating behind the scenes at Taibai Pavilion, right? Could we ask them about it too?"

Lu Xizhou nodded and said, "Taibai Pavilion does exist, and my second brother-in-law is a disciple of Taibai Pavilion."

A face suddenly flashed into Luo Hanying's mind. She glanced at Kong Lianghe several times, feeling a little awkward, and then asked Shen Weixia, who was standing beside her, "Hey, Senior Brother Shen, there are so many Taibai Pavilions in this world, they shouldn't be interconnected, right? They shouldn't have any connection, right?"

Shen Weixia was taken aback by Luo Hanying's sudden telepathic message. After a moment's surprise, he replied, "Of course we'll keep in touch. How can information circulate if we don't contact Taibai Pavilion?"

Luo Hanying felt a sense of foreboding: "So, to put it another way, if someone offends a disciple of Taibai Pavilion in the Western Barbarian Divine Continent, and their face is painted on them and they are wanted by the Western Barbarian Divine Continent, then Taibai Pavilion in the Southern Yue Divine Continent will also want that person, right?"

"Yes." Shen Weixia looked at Luo Hanying with a complicated expression. "You mean you didn't offend the disciples of Taibai Pavilion before, did you?"

Luo Hanying gave a forced smile and said, "No, it's just that a friend of mine offended them."

As everyone knows, "having a friend" is equivalent to the person giving their own testimony.